Molded article and process of making the same.



'ARTHURB; KR'IE'GER; '01 08 ANG'E'L'ES, CALIFORNIA.

1 MOLDED ARTICLE AND:PR-0GESS OF MAKING THE SAME.

No Drawing.

' "Patented ()ct. 21, 1913.

To all whom, it may concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR.H..KRIEGER, acitizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the countyofi-Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and usefulMolded Article and Process of Making the Same,"of which the'followl ingis a specification. I

This invention relates to bricks or blocks or molded articles such asare used in buildings or other structures, and the main object of theinvention is to provide a composition for such purposes which will beextremely light and yet present suificient strength for ordinarypurposes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a molded article for suchpurpose which will be resistant to heat.

The combination constituting my present invention has many otheradvantages, bein waterproof and practically sound proo that is to say,it acts as a deadener of sound.

The article constituting the present invention consists of kieselguhrcemented or bound together into a coherent mass, for example, in theform of-a brick or block, by the action of heat.

The material, kieselguhr, which forms the basis of my bricks or blocksor molded articles, said material being otherwise known as infusorialearth or diatomaceous earth, is found in large quantities in the westernpart of the United States, particularly in California, and on account ofits extreme low specific gravity, provides a material which is adaptedto make a brick or block of extreme lightness. Such light bricks orblocks are desirable for building purposes in that they reduce theweight of the walls, floors, etc., and correspondingly reduce thestrains on the supporting parts. The native kieselguhr has but littlecoherence, being of extremely friable and loose nature, so that it isnot adapted for use as such in the construction of building materials. Ihave found, however, that by means of the process hereinafter described,kieselguhr can be formed into coherent tenacious masses suitable forbuilding blocks, bricks or other molded articles. The kieselguhr in itsnatural state contains considerable moisture and it is usually air-driedbefore shi ment and it is the air-dried kieselguhr 0 commerce that ispreferably utilized in my invention. According to my invention thekieselguhr is'c'r'ushed to a suitable degree. of fineness, for example,to the fineness of coarse sand and is. mixedwith sufficient water toform a plasticmass capable of retaining its form. when molded. The wetor moist kieselguhr isthen molded into the desired form of -brick,-bloc'k or other article, and the resultlng molded articles are driedin any suitable manner, for example, by air-drying. The air-dried moldedarticles formed as above described are then subjected tothe action ofheat in a suitable kiln or furnace, the heat applied being substantiallythe same as that which is used in burning ordinary brick, and-the resultof such heat being to cause partial or incipient fusion or frittingtogether of the contacting parts of the kieselguhr, so as to form themolded articles into a coherent tenacious mass, the

amount of heat applied, however, being insuliicient to reduce materiallythe porosity of the mass.

The brick, block or molded article formed as above described .isextremely light, its

lightness being due not only to the intrinsic lightness of thekieselguhr, but tothe more or less porous nature of the article, theporosity being retained by the process as above described. The densityor specific gravity of the article will, however, depend not only on theamount of heat used, 'but'on the degree of fineness to which thekieselguhr is crushed. By crushing the kieselguhr to a state of finerdivision, for example, to the condition of fine sand, a denser, heavierand more compact article will be produced, whereas by using thekieselguhr in a coarser state of division, thev article may be lighterand more porous. It will be understood, however, that the greaterporosity and lightness will be accompanied in general by less tenacity,so that the conditions for which the article is to be used willdetermine the coarseness or fineness of crushing of the kieselguhr andthe degree of heat used in burning.

In some cases it is desirable touse a. mixture of different crushings orscreenings of kieselguhr of different coarseness, for example, asatisfactory brick for some urposes may be made by mixing relativelysense that it is not afiected by water, and is an efficient sounddeadener, as Well as a highly efiicient heat insulator.

What I claim is: 1. A molded article consisting of kieselguhr having itsparticles fritted and bound together by partial fusion of thekieselguhr.

2. A molded article consisting of a porous mass of kieselguhr having itsconstituent parts bound together by partial fusion of the parts incontact.

- 3. The process oflmaking a molded article consisting in mixing dividedkieselgnhr with Water to form a plastic mass, molding the same to therequired shape, drying the 15 molded mass and heating the dried product

